Brazil's currency unit is
the real
(plural = reais)
and is made up of 100 centavos and written using the symbol
R$.
The currency exchange symbol for the real
is BRL. The real has been relatively stable for Brazil since
its introduction in June, 1994. The rampant inflation of the early 1990's
(often amounting to over 1%
per day) is now only a distant
memory.

At its introduction in June,
1994, the exchange rate of the real was essentially on a
par with the US dollar. Since then, it has fluctuated widely and at one
point, in mid August, 2000, dropped as low as R$ 4.03 = USD$ 1.00.
However, since then, the Brazilian real has made the most
impressive gains against the US dollar of any currency in the world and
continues to do so.

At the end of 2009, the U.S.
dollar was near an eight year low against the real, having
lost a whopping 33+% of its value during 2009 alone. During the past 12
month period, the exchange rate of the U.S. dollar (USD) has fluctuated
from a low of (BRL) R$1.5310 to a high of (BRL) R$1.7790.
Throughout 2010, the U.S. dollar generally maintained a day-to-day exchange
rate between (BRL) R$1.70 and (BRL) R$1.80, occasionally
dipping below the (BRL) R$1.70 level. However, 2011 has thus far been devastating to the dollar. By late July, 2011, the dollar has fallen as low as R$1.5310, its lowest level since way before 2008 when the global financial crisis began.

In April, 2010, the Brazilian
Central Bank raised interest rates in the country, which had as its result
the strengthening of the real and the weakening of the dollar.
The real reached a quarterly high of 1.7205 in April
2010, two days after the Brazilian Central Bank raised the benchmark interest
rate 0.75 percentage point to 9.5 percent. Since then, the
Brazilian Central Bank has raised the benchmark interest rate to 12.5% in an attempt to curb inflation. While some do not see the central Bank raising interest rates again in 2011, there are many who expect at least one more raise of 0.25% before the end of 2011 if inflation continues.

During 2010 and on into 2011,
the Central Bank of Brazil has held numerous spot auctions to buy U.S.
dollars in their efforts to weaken the real and, thereby,
make Brazilian exports less costly on the world market. On May 6, 2010,
the real declined the most in almost a year and a half, primarily
based upon concerns about Greece’s financial crisis and the worry that
the crisis may spread to other European nations, including Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Italy.
But this was only temporary. The real continues its climb
against the dollar as well as other currencies.

You may see different exchange
rates listed in various places as commercial, bank, tourist
and/or
parallel. All are usually within a few points of the others. The commercial
or
bank rate is the rate most often used in commercial transactions as
well as the one most often used (but not always) by online currency
converters. The tourist rate is just what it implies, the
exchange rate a tourist can expect if exchanging, for example, dollars
for
reais at an airport, bank, hotel, authorized money exchange
or travel agency. The tourist rate is usually a little less
than the
commercial
or bank rate. The parallel rate
is often the basis used by cambistas (black market money changers).
For all rates, there is also a different rate depending upon whether you're
buying
or sellingreais or buying or
selling
another currency (e.g. dollars, euros, pounds, yen, etc.).

Caution!
Especially
when dealing with money, keep in mind that, in Brazil, the use of commas
(,) and periods (.) expressed in numerals is exactly the
opposite
of what is used in the United States. Brazilians use a period (.)
instead of a comma (,) —to delineate thousands—
and a comma (,) instead of a period (.) —to delineate fractions.
Normally, an amount in reais is written as R$, consequently,
R$
6,00 (with
a comma) is sixreais and R$ 6.000
(with a period) is six thousandreais.
Likewise, for amounts with fractions (centavos), it's 1.045,25
instead of 1,045.25 (one thousand, forty
five reais and twenty five centavos) or R$
10,25 instead of R$ 10.25 (ten
reais
and twenty five centavos).